Young TikTokers Praise Bin Laden

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Global Recap
November 17, 2023 • Read in: 8 minutes

Hi Global Recap readers,

Never in a million years would I have thought that Americans would sympathize with Osama Bin Laden. Today, we cover this depressing story.

Also: I reported yesterday that SpaceX’s Starship launch was planned for today. However, it was delayed till Saturday.

🌐 Around the world:

  • Blinken winces at Biden.

  • India plans to seed clouds.

  • Netanyahu getting kicked out soon?

  • Belarus trafficked thousands of kids.

  • Young TikTokers praise Bin Laden.

Let’s get into today’s news.

😱 Blinken Winces at Biden

President Biden called Xi a dictator again, and his top diplomat was not happy.

Secretary of State Blinken visibly cringed and fidgeted when Biden remarked at a press conference, after meeting with Xi for hours.

Why? Blinken has been trying to mend ties with China, but Biden seems to have undone his efforts with one word.

Watch the video to see it all unfold.

☁️ Delhi’s Desperate Rain Plan

Delhi’s government wants to use cloud seeding - a technique that artificially creates rain - to combat the city’s dire pollution crisis. But experts warn it’s a complex, pricey, and dicey fix with potential unknown environmental side effects.

What is cloud seeding? Cloud seeding involves spraying salt particles on clouds to make them rain. The idea is that rain will wash away the pollutants in the air, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. The right clouds and atmospheric conditions are a must, and they’re not always on Delhi’s guest list.

🇮🇱 Lapid Wants Netanyahu Out

Opposition leader Yair Lapid

Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid says “the time has come” for Netanyahu to be removed.

Who is he? He served as the 14th Prime Minister of Israel after Netanyahu was voted out in 2021.

He is pushing for a new government that would exclude PM Netanyahu and his allies. Netanyahu has lost the trust of the people, the world, and the security system after the Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, according to Lapid.

👀 Belarus Kidnaps Thousands of Kids

A Yale study reveals that Belarus has been helping Russia to forcibly traffick 2,442 Ukrainian children to 13 facilities across Belarus.

The children are allegedly subjected to military training and re-education by the regimes of Putin and Lukashenko, who are accused of war crimes and genocide.

🎬 YouTube Success

🫤 YouTube? What? How do I even start? I dunno what to talk about. No one’s watching my videos…

Now: You can join a community of creators, together with whom you will start getting answers to these pressing questions. Getting started on successfully growing your own community is a click away.

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The Internet

Young TikTokers Praise Bin Laden

Osama Bin Laden

👀 Osama Bin Laden’s Letter Goes Viral. A 2002 letter written by the notorious al-Qaeda leader as a justification for the 9/11 attacks has resurfaced on TikTok, sparking controversy and debate. The letter is called “Letter to America.”

📱 TikTok Users React. Some young Americans have shared their reactions to the letter on TikTok, saying that it made them question their own country and its role in the world. Some even said that bin Laden was “right” about the US and its crimes, describing the letter as “mind-blowing.” TikTok has also been aggressively taking down videos that promote the letter.

🗞️ The Guardian Deletes the Letter. The British news website that published the letter in 2002 has removed it from its website, saying that it was being shared online without the full context. The move has fueled accusations of censorship and conspiracy. Personally, I don’t think censorship is the answer. Transparency and proper education of history are what the younger generation needs.

🔥 What Attracts TikTokers. The letter reveals bin Laden’s worldview and ideology, which motivated him to orchestrate the deadliest terrorist attack in US history. But what seems to attract many young TikTokers is Bin Laden’s vehement anti-Semitic views, expressed in his call for Israel’s eradication and his conspiracy theories about Jewish control over US media, policies, and economy, seem to resonate with a pro-Palestine segment on TikTok.

🤯 More Shocking Claims. In the letter, bin Laden accuses the US of being responsible for the oppression of Palestinians and Muslims, and calls for attacks on civilians.

He writes:

“Israel must be erased.”

"The American people are the ones who pay the taxes which fund the planes that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq.”

“… the Jews have taken control of your economy, through which they have then taken control of your media,”

🙅‍♂️ The Backlash. Many people have criticized those who see any merit in the letter, saying that it is a propaganda piece that distorts the truth and justifies violence.

☁ Truth + Nonsense. Yet, it does shed light on aspects of American imperialism - hardly a “mind-blowing” revelation though. This blend of truth, antisemitic propaganda, and radical nonsense can mislead some impressionable people into accepting the entire content as factual.

Just take a look at this:

“The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam. (…) You are the nation who, rather than ruling by the Shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws, choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire.”

In other words, Bin Laden is criticizing America for not following the Islamic law. He wants America to follow Islam.

Shariah of Allah? No, thank you.